Improvement in locomotive tram-wagons



' 28heeizs-Sheet 1. H. A. EDWARDS.

Locomotive Tram-Wagon.

No. 219,452. Patented Sept, 9, I879.

ITED T t OFFICE.

HENRY A. nnvvnnns, oncnicneo, ILLINOIS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 219,452., dated September 9, 1879; application filed February 13, 1879. d

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. Enwnnns, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and, State of Illinois, have-invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive Tram-Wagons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference bein'ggi 11 ad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference markedthereomwhich form a part of this specification. 7

This invention relates to improvements in that class of road or traction engines propelled by steam or other power acting upon the carriage, and in which the'whole apparatus moves upon an endless traveling tramwa laid down at oneend of the machine and taken up at the other as the carriage progresses in either direction, the object being to furnish a broad 'and firm base for the support of the apparatus while passing over soft ground with such adhesion as will prevent all slipping, and at the same time furnish a means by whichthe carriage can be readily turned to the right or lefta desideratum not hitherto fully accomplished by other-machines of this nature, as in the engines heretofore constructed in which a movable tramway was employed, if the bearings upon the earth were of sufficient length to fully support the apparatus while moving over soft ground, it was found almost impossible to turn 7 them from a direct line Without the aid of some device of the nature of a tnrn-table,'or by the use'of skids, upon which they are run, and

then slid by levers to the right or left, as may be desired, and to this end the invention con sists, first, in the application of certain levers whichth'row' the weightof the front endof the machineupon thesteering wheel substantially supporting the apparatus upon two pointsnamely, the steering-Wheel and the rear bearing-roller-'thus giving the steering-wheel a firm hold upon the ground, and placing it at the long end of a lever the fulcrum of which is, the middle of the rear bearing-roller above named; and, secondly, the invention consists in the peculiar construction of the tram-plates, by which a firm hold upon the ground is secured, as well as great durability,while the whole device, when its several parts are hinged together, is sufficiently flexible to meet the requirements of the machine; and, thirdly, the invention consists in certain details of construction and arnangementof parts, which will bra-hereinafter fully described, and then speoilically stated in the claims.

1n the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of the ina'chil'ie, showing the general arrangement of the driving mechcorners being rounded, so as to easilysurrnount obstructions. Y

In addition to the deck A, the side timbers are connected by the flooring orapron A, placed below the deck, sufficient space being left between them for the free passage of the tram-plates G, the' construct-ion and mode of operating which will be hereinafter described.

Mounted in suitable journal-hearings upon the deck A is the engine-shaft I), provided with pulleys E and E. The pulley E carries a belt, F, by which therotation of the engineshaft is imparted to the shaft G through the pulley ;H, mounted'thereon. From the pulley another belt, F, carries the sh aft G" through the pulley H, secured thereon.

It will thus be seen that the motion or" the engine-shaft is communicated through the belts to the shafts G G, supported in journal-boxes attached to the deck A, near each of its ends. These shafts overhang their bearings and carry the spring-ears II, which engage with similar gear-wheels J J upon the ends of the driving-rolls vK and K, placedat opposite ends of the machine. Upon the outer ends of these drivingroll shafts or to the gearwheels J areseeured the pulleys L L, from which mot-ion is'imparted to the driving and bearing rolls M M through the belts N and N and pulleys O, secured to the outer ends of the rolls M andlli. t will thus be appa- T AVAHLABLE? G01 rent that the power applied to the enginehttftis'conveyed through the system of bolts carry them, together with the apparatus which they support, along the tramway.

Instead of the belts and gearing hereinbefore described, the power of the engine may be transmitted directly from the engine-shaft to the central bearing and driving whcels M M by means of suitable gearing, and from them to the other l'olis by belts orshafting provided with proper bevel-gears, the essential point being to transmit the power to the rolls in the most direct manner, so as to avoid loss by friction.

The tramway is composed of tram-plates 0, each of which is of triangular cross-section, and preierably constructed by bending asheet of metal into the triangular form shown in liig. 4, the space within the triangle being filled with wood, if desired. Each of these tram-plates is of alength nearly equal to the entire width ot the machine, so as to give a iii-m support by covming a large surface of ground, and they are artienlatedor hinged together, as is clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. These tram-plates when united form, a broad belt, which passes under the driving and bearing rollers and over the apron A. The side of this belt next to the rollers is smooth, whilethe opposite side, which comes in contact with the ground, is sharply corrugated. Thesecorrugations sinkinto the earth,

v thus insuring permanency in the positionot' each tram-plate while the machine is passing over it.

In order to carry the machine tin-ward over tram-plates each of the lattcris provided with mortises u in the side next the rollers, into which the cogs I) upon-the periphery of the bearing and driving rollers penetrate, thus causing a positive forward movement without slip of thema-chine upon the tram-plates. As-

the machine passes over the plates they are lifted from the ground and passed forward over theapron, to be deposited in front of the bearing-rolls, and so on as long asthc machine is in motion.

The triangular shape of tlie train-plates prevents them from sticking in mud or catching 011 obstacles, for should a small stone or stick be forced into the space between two of them, the moment'thcy began to rise after passing the last bearing-roller it would be released and fall out. v

Additional bearing-rollers P,journaledin the side timbers, B, are placed at such points and in such numbers as may be required to give a proper'bearin'g suriacc upon the tram-plates. In the drawings this surface is shown presenting a slightly curved line for the greater length oi the machine, then rising rather abruptly to the driving-rollers K and K; but this line may be varied as experience and the nature bearing 0.

of the ground upon which the machine is to work may dictate.

In order to guide the machine a ,guiding wheel, R, is placed in 'i'rontand revolves in the bifurcated lower end of the si dard' S. This standard rotatesin the bearing 0, attached to the cross-bar which connects the i'r re-v ends of the levers T. I

A spring, (I, isplaced between the bearin 0 and the bifurcated portion of 'the standard, to receive and absorb any shocks which :naf-i be imparted to the latter byeoming in contact with obstacles that would not in any way interfere with the general progress of the ma chine.

The levers T are pivoted to the sidetimbers, B, at the point-c, their rearward ends Utllilg connected with pnllevs 1g upon the shaft U by the ropes or chains It.

A halal-lever, m, is attached to the shaft U in such a manner that by its operation the chains/1 are wound upon the pulleys g g, thus raising the rear ends of the levers T, and, consequently, depressing their front ends and the This, by nsingthe standard S and guiding-wheel as a fulcrum, raises the fron end of the machine from the ground, thus allowing the guiding-wheel to have suflicient control over the machine to turn it from a direct course to either side, as may be desired. In order t o operate this guiding-wheel a crossbar, a, is passed throughthe top of the [standard S. is attached the two ends of a chain or rope, p, the bight of which is crossed and encircles the steering-wheel V, mounted upon the top of the vertical shaft Y. e

It is evident that by rotating this steeringwheel the standard S will also be turned in the same direction, carrying with it the guiding wheel 1%,, and enabling the operator to direct the course of the machine;

In operating this apparatus on steep grades its movement may be regulated by a rope, one end of which is secured at the top of the grade and taken up or paid out from a Windlass put in motion by the engine used for propelling the apparatus. i

If desired, a device may be attached to the tits it for the purposes of steam-plowing and such other agricultural operations as require an engine of this character for their successful performance. i 4 Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and-desire to secure by Letters Patent, the following:

To the opposite ends of this cross-bar 1. 111 a traction-engine moving upon an endless tramway, the combination, with the guiding-wheel, of means, substantially as described, for raising one end of the engine and tramway, for the purpose of facilitating the turning and guiding of the same, as set forth.

2. The tram-plates (J, of triangular section, hinged together and provided with an internal wood-filling, and nortises a, in combination with the driving and bearing rollers, the whole forming an endless tramway with a corrugated bearing-surface. as and for the purpose specified.

3. The engine-shaft D, provided with two drivingmlleys and connected with the shafts G and G at opposite ends of. the machine by suitable belts, in combination with the spurgears, driving-rollers K K, bearing-rollers M M, and endless tramway all constructed and operating in the manner and for the purpose described.

4. The hearing-plate or apron A, in combination with the endless corrugated tramway and driving and bearing rolls, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimonythat I claim the foregoing as my own I hereunto afiix my signature in pres ence of two witnesses.

HENRY A. EDWARDS.

Witnesses:

J. J. NoAH, J. J. HINDS. 

